Jersey businesses ask for 'patience' as restrictions ease
Video report by ITV Channel's Alex Spiceley
With restrictions set to ease in Jersey today(1 February), businesses are asking islanders for patience as they adjust to new rules.
Many island businesses are choosing to continue wearing face masks and are asking their customers to do the same.
But with several businesses taking on difference approaches once restrictions ease, it could lead to confusion in the coming months.
From today(1 February), it will no longer be law in Jersey for people to wear face masks in public buildings, instead the decision will now fall on individual businesses.
LibertyBus and Ports of Jersey have announced that they will still require passengers to wear face masks when using island buses and visiting the Airport and Harbour.
Whilst they welcome the easing of restrictions in the island, they want to ensure the safety of their customers and staff.
Maria Le Tiec, Head of Security & Passenger Services for Ports of Jersey, said: "Ports of Jersey welcomes last week’s announcement that travel restrictions are to be lifted as from 7 February.
"We would like to confirm that at this stage, passengers and customers are still requested to wear masks/shields (unless an exemption is in place), when using our terminals at both the airport and harbour and to maintain social distancing wherever possible.
Islanders using LibertyBus services will also be required to wear a mask when using the buses, or they will be refused travel, unless exempt.
Kevin Hart, Director for LibertyBus, said: “We are feeling very positive about the steps to fewer COVID restrictions in the island, but as buses are enclosed spaces, during this current time, we require all passengers to wear a face mask to protect our customers, staff and the wider public. This, of course, will be reviewed in the near future’.
Businesses are responsible for their staff's safety whilst at work, which one island lawyer sees as a reasonable obligation.
Huw Thomas, an employment lawyer, said: "The strict letter of the law is this, anybody running a business has a health and safety obligation to take reasonable care for the health and safety for everybody on their premises.
"So if that means wearing masks according to health and safety, then that's where we'll go, but generally they can compel mask wearing if that's what they want to do if they thinks it's appropriate. Many businesses are also resulting to continuing restrictions on premises as a means of preventing mass staff shortages, which have severely impacted them in the past.
Dr Douglas John Hamilton, Vet at New Era, said: "We're going to continue to ask clients to wear masks in the building for a number of reasons. A couple of weeks ago we had 8 people off either with Covid or isolating and because we're a small team losing that number of people has a massive impact on the services we can offer.
"We had to close surgeries and reduce the number of animals we're seeing. We also are quite unique in that we spend a lot of time working closely together as team members because we have to, and also we see a lot of members of the public in restricted air space so the chances of transmission is very high.
"The third factor is we have several members of staff who are in the vulnerable or highly vulnerable group and it is our responsibility to look after their health."